A Friendly Sparring Match
by ElectronicYarn
Summary: The time has finally come for team vs. team sparring at Beacon, and the first two teams in the ring are the highest rated in their class year: RWBY and JNPR. Swords (that are also guns) will clash! Fists will fly! And Nature's Wrath will be unleashed! When the smoke clears, only one team can be victorious.


_Author's Note: Oh boy, I'm in for it now! The only thing that fans like to argue about more than shipping is who would beat who in a fight. Please keep in mind this was written in the spirit of fun._

 _This story was written while Volume 4 was airing, and most notably, before we found out what Ren's semblance is. (If we do indeed ever find out.) So I took at guess at what it might be._

* * *

A jumbled chorus of voices filled Beacon Academy's combat arena as the first-year students chatted away in the stands. Sparring class wouldn't begin for another few minutes, but everyone was already present and eager to get started. Even the habitual stragglers had arrived early today. After weeks of one-on-one and two-on-two matches, team combat training was finally about to begin. The excitement in the air was palpable.

Team RWBY was in its usual spot front and center in the stands. Ruby was fidgeting impatiently. Weiss had a serious look on her face. Blake was sitting passively, revealing nothing about whatever she might be thinking. And Yang was relaxing like she didn't have a care in the world.

For the third time in as many minutes, Weiss's eyes scanned the arena. She took careful note of all the other students. Today they weren't her fellow classmates but potential adversaries. She turned to her team and asked, "Does everyone remember the strategies we practiced?"

"Yes!" an exasperated trio of voices answered.

Weiss said, "We should go over them again all the same. If we're matched up against Team—"

"Relax, Princess," Yang interrupted. "We said we got it. What's got you so worried anyway?"

"Today is important!" Weiss said. "Ten percent of our grade is based on our performance in team matches!"

Blake said, "We're graded on the whole semester, not just today."

Weiss said, "It'll be far easier if we start at the top rather than the bottom."

Yang shrugged. "Well, you've got a point, but seriously, we're going to kick butt. I mean, come on. It's us!"

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed. "Don't worry Weiss. We all want to win."

The harsh clicking of heeled boots down on the arena floor drew everyone's attention. Professor Glynda Goodwitch had arrived, precisely on time like always. Class had officially begun.

A hush fell over the stands as Professor Goodwitch strode to the center of the arena. She pushed the bridge of her glasses up and said, "Good morning students. As you know, team battles begin today. Team pairings have been selected at random for the first round. Tournament-style rules will apply. I expect you all to do your best, and remember that anyone caught engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct will be severely punished."

A boo came from somewhere in the direction of where Team CRDL was sitting.

Professor Goodwitch continued, "I encourage all of you to pay close attention to all of the bouts today. Even the ones you or your friends are not participating in are still opportunities to learn."

Professor Goodwitch pulled out her scroll and opened it up. All of the students waited with bated breath to see who would be first. Professor Goodwitch said, "The first match will be Teams RWBY and JNPR. Combatants, please proceed to the arena floor."

"Wow," Yang said. "Talk about rolling out the big guns right off the bat."

Weiss said, "This is exactly what I was afraid of! Pyrrha's undefeated so far this semester!"

Blake said, "We were going to have to fight against Team JNPR sooner or later. It might be good that we're getting it out of the way."

"Don't talk like we're going to lose!" Ruby said. "I mean, sure, Pyrrha has her own cereal, but that doesn't mean anything, right? We can beat them!"

"Yeah!" Yang said. "After all, we've got a brilliant plan, right?" She slapped Weiss on the shoulder.

Weiss glared at Yang, but she said, "Yes. You're right."

Soon, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were facing down Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren on the arena floor. Professor Goodwitch took her place in the referee's box and called out, "Combatants at the ready!"

The clacking of metal and ceramic unfolding sounded as all eight huntresses- and huntsmen-to-be drew their weapons and took their marks.

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch said.

The initial moments of the fight were pure chaos. Ruby had the advantage of speed thanks to her semblance, and she used every ounce of it to charge straight for Pyrrha. Ren started making a beeline for Yang only to get caught in a double-team from Blake and Weiss. Nora tried to jump in and help Ren, but Yang came flying through the air and landed right in front of her.

Within the space of seconds, everyone was locked into fierce combat with opponents just as determined to win as they were. Everyone, that was, except for Jaune. He ended up unwittingly fighting Blake's clone.

Ruby was an absolute blur. She literally ran circles around Pyrrha, constantly prodding and poking Pyrrha's defenses, but never committing to an attack. It was all part of Team RWBY's plan. Ruby's sole job was to keep Pyrrha occupied while Weiss, Blake, and Yang took the rest of Team JNPR apart. With any luck, she would also get a few hits in on Pyrrha. Despite Ruby's incredible speed, however, Pyrrha's guard seemed to be impenetrable.

Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake were pressing their advantage over Ren. He was putting up a valiant defense though. Where ever Blake's sword or sharpened sheath struck, one of his pistols' blades was there to block. However, that left Weiss free to maneuver using her glyphs. She effortlessly struck Ren repeatedly with her rapier.

Ren was very well in tune with his own aura, even by a huntsman's standards, and he knew that it was rapidly being depleted. He realized that he'd be eliminated quickly if he didn't do something. Blake's and Weiss's swords came rushing toward him again, but paradoxically, he slid his pistols back into his sleeves.

Blake and Weiss struck simultaneously, but Ren appeared to catch their blades barehanded. Blake and Weiss both looked surprised, until they saw a faintly glowing barrier pulsing over Ren's hands. Ren pushed his opponents' swords aside. Then he swept his arms about and let the power of his semblance roll off his body like a tidal wave. The energy violently buffeted Blake and Weiss, throwing them off their feet.

Ren immediately charged at Blake. He focused his semblance's power into his right hand and struck Blake with his open palm. A blast of pink energy enveloped Blake. When it faded, she was nowhere to be seen. Ren's eyebrow raised in curiosity.

A few feet away from Ren, Jaune was blinking in confusion. The Blake he'd been fighting had vanished into thin air. "Huh?" he said. "Where'd she go?"

Ren put the clues together in a heartbeat and realized that Blake had summoned a clone to take the hit for her at the last second. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He spun and just barely batted away Blake's sword as it flew in, folded up on the end of its ribbon. The sword swung around and landed back in Blake's hand. Just behind her, Weiss was getting back on her feet. Ren brought his hands up. It seemed he was on the defensive again.

Over on the other side of the arena, Yang and Nora were whaling against each other. The spectators in the stands closest to them could actually feel the tremors from their titanic blows. The colossal grin on Yang's face was matched by the one on Nora's. There might have been wildly contentious opinions about which of the fighters on the arena floor right now were the most dangerous, but there was no question about which two were having the most fun.

Yang leaped back as Nora tried to smash her like a bug. Nora's hammer whizzed by close enough for Yang to feel, but it slammed harmlessly into the ground. Nora had the advantage of range, so Yang cocked her fists back and peppered Nora with rapid-fire blasts from her gauntlets.

Sprays of shot pelted Nora, but she gleefully ignored them and swung for Yang's feet. Yang jumped over the blow, but Nora used her momentum to spin around. Her hammer came over her shoulder and flew straight for Yang's head. With no time to dodge, Yang brought her hands up and managed to catch the oversized weapon. The force of the blow went straight through her and into the ground. She practically felt the floor crack beneath her feet.

Nora kept up the pressure, but Yang held her ground. Neither one of them was willing to give an inch, and they both knew it. Yang's boots started sliding backward across the floor. Her muscles were straining to their limit, but she pushed back as hard as she could and managed to fling Nora's hammer to the side. In an instant, she was inside Nora's guard. She hit her with a devastating one-two punch, her gauntlets firing away for extra effect.

Nora was knocked off her feet, but as she fell, her hammer folded up into its grenade launcher configuration. The very second she hit the floor, she bounced up again and fired off a barrage at Yang. Yang brought her gauntlets up to block. A hail of explosions battered her, but her gauntlets absorbed the brunt of the assault.

Without warning, Nora's barrage suddenly stopped and Nora herself came flying in. Before Yang could react, Nora slammed her hammer down onto Yang at full force, laying Yang out flat on the floor.

Yang slowly started climbing back to her feet. Nora raised her hammer again, ready to drive Yang into the ground like a stubborn nail. The hammer rushed down to meet Yang, but she casually lifted her hand and effortlessly caught it, stopping it cold. An evil smile spread across her face.

Yang's hair began to glow, and fire erupted from her as her semblance flared to life. Before Nora could do anything, Yang grabbed the shaft of her hammer. She yanked on it hard, pulling Nora toward her, and let loose a mighty uppercut that sent Nora hurtling straight up into the air and out of sight.

Now that Yang's immediate opponent was temporarily out of the picture, she quickly surveyed the arena. Ruby was still locked in a duel with Pyrrha. She was doing a good job of keeping Pyrrha distracted, although a quick look at the scoreboard revealed that Pyrrha was slowly working Ruby's aura down. Jaune was trying to help Pyrrha, but she and Ruby were zipping around the arena so quickly that he couldn't keep up.

Ren, however, was making up for Jaune's shortcomings. He was somehow managing to tie up Weiss and Blake with just his bare hands. Yang figured it must have something to do with his semblance, although she didn't really know all that much about how his worked. In fact, all of Team JNPR's semblances were mysteries, except for Nora's of course. Like any topic of conversation, she'd been known to babble on loudly about it in the cafeteria.

Yang picked her target and shouted, "Blake!"

With just a glance, Blake knew what Yang wanted. Her next few attacks maneuvered Ren into position.

Yang pushed off the floor with all her might and used her gauntlets to propel herself. She flew through the air like a rocket. Ren saw her coming at the last second. He brought his hands up to defend himself.

Yang connected with a devastating haymaker. She felt Ren's semblance resist her. If Nora hadn't given her a boost it might have been enough to stop her, but as it was, she crashed through Ren's barrier like it was made of glass. Ren was bowled off his feet and when skidding across the floor. There was a buzz overhead.

"Lie Ren is out!" Professor Goodwitch called from the referee's box.

Yang wasn't done yet; she was hungry for more eliminations. Her eyes fell upon the bumbling Jaune. A sly grin crossed her face. She knew an easy target when she saw one. Plus Jaune was known to have the odd moment of sudden and extreme competence. It would be best to take him out before that happened.

Yang charged for Jaune. Unlike Ren, Jaune had no idea what was about to happen. Yang leaped into the air. Her fist slammed down with enough force to crush a boulder, which is why she was completely and utterly baffled when Jaune didn't collapse like a wet noodle. Instead, a brilliant light erupted from Jaune and Yang's punch collided harmlessly with some kind of unyielding force.

Yang and Jaune stared at each other with equally dumbfounded looks, and some confused muttering came from the students watching the fight. However, before Jaune could capitalize on his apparent invincibility, Blake's sword came flying in on its ribbon and clocked Jaune across the side of his head. Unlike Yang's punch, it had the desired effect.

Blake came rushing in a moment later and immediately sliced at Jaune with her sword and sheath. Jaune managed to stay on his feet and raise his shield, but Blake moved like liquid smoke. No matter which way Jaune blocked, she was already somewhere else. Clones appeared and vanished faster than he could hope to keep track of.

It was then that Nora finally landed back on the arena floor.

"Nora!" Jaune shouted. "Time to use Super Charge!"

Nora jumped up and shook her head clear. "Got it!" she said. She started rooting around her pockets.

Unfortunately, it was too late for Jaune. With a flourish, Blake kicked his feet out from under him. As soon as he hit the ground, Blake and her clones became an indistinct blur, and three of her seemed to strike Jaune from three different directions almost simultaneously.

There was a buzz, accompanied by a pained groan from Jaune.

"Mr. Arc is out!" Professor Goodwitch called.

Nora finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a vial of yellow Dust and smashed it on her forehead. A torrent of electricity exploded from it. Nora cackled madly as her semblance soaked up the energy and her eyes literally lit up with power.

Nora slammed her hammer down into the ground. She used its grenade launcher to blast herself into the air. She spun head over heels and went hurtling straight for Blake, shouting, "Reveeenge!"

Blake dodged out of the way, but Nora came down like a meteor. The impact shook the ground and knocked Blake off her feet.

Nora hefted her hammer and swung it right at Blake, but at the last second, Yang jumped in the way. Yang crossed her arms in front of her to block and braced herself as best she could. She knew this was going to hurt.

Nora's hammer smashed into Yang with remnant-shattering force and sent Yang flying all the way to the arena wall. To everyone surprise, however, no buzzer sounded. Nora didn't care though, she immediately turned to Blake with a sadistic gleam in her eye.

Meanwhile, away from where Nora was unleashing her torrent of destruction, Ruby was still dancing around Pyrrha. She'd never used her semblance so much in a single battle before, but even so, she hadn't even landed one solid hit. She was starting to get discourage, completely unaware of the slack-jawed stares of awe she'd earned from the spectating students by keeping pace with Pyrrha Nikos for so long. Discouraged or not, Ruby was still giving it her all. She wasn't going to let her team down.

Ruby zoomed around to try another attack when she saw her sister go hurtling across the arena, courtesy of Nora. "Yang!" she called out.

Ruby wasn't even distracted for a full second, but that was all the opening Pyrrha needed. Pyrrha's shield smashed into Ruby, followed by several expert strikes of her sword. Ruby instinctively backed off only to find herself being instantly pelted by rifle fire. It never failed to amaze her how fast Pyrrha could switch between her weapon's modes. She was in trouble now, but she had an idea.

"Checkmate!" Ruby called out.

Right on cue, Weiss came sliding in on a glyph from behind. Pyrrha sensed the danger. She rolled around, brought her shield up, and blocked at the last second. Before she could counterattack, however, Blake struck as well, forcing Pyrrha to twist out of the way. Weiss and Blake swarmed over Pyrrha, trying to find a hole in her perfect defenses.

Now that Ruby had bought herself some time, she zoomed toward Nora. Nora saw the blur of rose petals coming for her and planted her feet firmly. She lifted her hammer and held it ready to knock Ruby into the stratosphere.

Ruby closed the distance, and Nora swung. Ruby dropped to her knees and slid underneath the blow. There was so much force behind the hammer that she felt the air pressure shift in its wake, but she managed to slide past safely.

Ruby sprung back to her feet behind Nora and hooked the crook of her scythe around Nora's ankles. She fired off a shot and yanked with all her might. The combined forces were enough to pull Nora off her feet. Before she'd even hit the ground, Ruby spun her scythe around and used the butt of her weapon to slam Nora into the floor. There was a buzz overhead.

"Ms. Valkyrie is out!"

"Awww," Nora said from the ground.

Ruby turned to where Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha were battling just in time to see Pyrrha hurtle her shield into the ground. It bounced up and smacked Weiss in the head, sending her careening backward. Somehow, the shield magically found Pyrrha's hand again.

Ruby rushed to Blake's side, shouting, "Ladybug!"

Ruby used her speed and Blake used her clones to come at Pyrrha from every angle at once. Ruby was really starting to feel the strain of using her semblance so much today. She knew that she was minutes away from complete exhaustion, but this fight was almost over. It was just Pyrrha versus all of Team RWBY now. There was no way she could win four-on-one, right?

Ruby tried her very best, and her best was very, very good. There was a reason she'd been allowed into Beacon two years early. But no matter what she did, no matter how fast she moved, she just couldn't hit Pyrrha. Even when Ruby thought she had her, her scythe would miss by just a hair. Blake was not having any better luck either. Pyrrha always seemed to know which Blake was real and which was fake. It was like she was protected by fate itself.

Suddenly, Blake managed to lock blades with Pyrrha. She pressed her advantage and twisted Pyrrha's sword out of her hand. Amazed gasps went up from the students watching. No one had ever seen Pyrrha disarmed before.

Ruby knew this was the best chance she was going to get. She rushed in and put everything she had left into one last attack.

Ruby didn't connect. Pyrrha deftly dodged out of the way, grabbed the front of Ruby's blouse, and tossed her over her hip at Blake. Ruby's and Blake's heads collided together like a pair of piñatas. Pyrrha spun and slammed her shield into the stunned girls with enough force to send them arcing through the air.

Ruby and Blake landed hard on the floor a good ten feet back. There were two buzzes.

"Ms. Belladonna and Ms. Rose are out!"

Pyrrha's sword flew into her hand. She locked eyes with Weiss.

Over at the edge of the arena, Yang staggered to her feet. She felt like she'd been run over by a steamroller, but at the same time, she felt like she was on the biggest adrenaline high of her life. The strength flowing through her was indescribable; it was like she was bathing in power. It was a miracle that the hit from Nora hadn't taken her out. She didn't need to look at the scoreboard to know that she was only a sliver above the elimination line. The hit must have given her aura just enough of a boost to keep her in the fight.

Yang saw that a lot had happened in the amount of time it'd taken her to come to her senses. Only Weiss and Pyrrha were left in the arena with her. At least that made things simple. Yang's legs coiled beneath her, and she readied her gauntlets.

Pyrrha was sizing up Weiss when she heard Yang's gauntlets fire. She glanced in the direction of the sound. Her eyes widened when she saw Yang hurtling towards her, looking like a goddess of war descending from the heavens and glowing like the sun itself.

Pyrrha's hand flew up as if it could somehow protect her. And unbelievably, Yang lurched to a halt a few feet short of her goal as some invisible force stopped her dead in her tracks.

For the second time today, Yang was completely baffled. However, this time an explanation was readily, and quite literally, at hand. There was a black glow of energy surrounding Yang's gauntlets. She realized that Pyrrha's semblance must be polarity!

Over on the side of the arena, comprehension dawned on Ruby as well. "Oooh. Now I get it," she said.

Yang was not amused at being foiled for a second time today. She wasn't going to let this stand. She reached deep into her core and summon up every last single drop of the strength that Nora had given her. She pushed with all her might and managed to take a step forward.

Pyrrha had the courtesy to look alarmed.

Yang took another step forward. Pyrrha increased her effort. She hated using her semblance so overtly, but right now she really didn't have a choice.

Yang strained against her own gauntlets, but she kept pushing forward. Nothing was going to stop her now. She threw a punch in slow-motion, and it inched closer and closer to Pyrrha.

Left with no other option, Pyrrha cranked up her semblance and let loose its full power in one big burst. For a split second, the shimmering, rippling wave of raw energy coming off of her was actually visible. Yang was lifted into the air by her gauntlets and tossed helplessly away.

Unfortunately for Pyrrha, she didn't get so much as a second to recover from that strenuous effort. Weiss came gliding in on a glyph, sword first.

Weiss's rapier glanced off of Pyrrha's shield. Pyrrha rolled forward past Weiss and opened up the distance a little. Her sword unfolded into its spear configuration and became a blur of rapid strikes. It took all of Weiss's skill to parry Pyrrha's attacks. Weiss knew one of Pyrrha's great strengths was her ability to always control the distance of an engagement, and she wasn't happy to have the tactic turned on her.

Weiss realized she would lose if this kept up. She flipped her rapier over to the cyan Dust chamber. When her sword next clashed against Pyrrha's spear, she squeezed the trigger. There was a flash of white and suddenly the end of Pyrrha's spear was coated in ice, completely throwing off the balance of the weapon. Pyrrha teetered just a bit, and Weiss spun in. She charged her sword with red Dust and struck a hard blow. Pyrrha block, just barely, but the impact of the strike put her firmly on the defensive.

As Weiss unleashed her counterattack, Pyrrha saw the last thing she wanted to see. Yang was back on her feet and charging at her like a whole stampede's worth of angry bulls.

Pyrrha knew she needed to do something and she needed to do it right now. With a little help from her semblance, she used her shield to knock Weiss back. Then she whacked Weiss with the end of her spear. The ice coating it shattered in Weiss's face, momentarily stunning her. Pyrrha switched her weapon back to its sword form and dug into a defense stance.

As Yang closed in, Pyrrha reached out with her semblance again, only this time there was nothing for it to grab ahold of. Yang had taken off her gauntlets.

Pyrrha had just enough time to realize how much trouble she was in before Yang's fist crashed into her with all the power of an avalanche. It was the first real hit she'd taken the whole match, and what a hit it was. She flew through the air at breakneck speed. Her brief flight ended when she slammed into the arena wall with bone crushing force, straining her suddenly flagging aura even further.

Yang was on Pyrrha in a second. She whaled on her opponent with rapid-fire punches. Pyrrha hid behind her shield, but she could feel the devastating force of the blows running all the way down her arms. Desperately, she reached out for something, anything, for her semblance to use.

Yang kept up her relentless assault. There was no more need for fancy tactics. Victory was just a moment away.

Suddenly, something small and moving very fast smacked into the back of Yang's head. It hit just hard enough to make her head jerk forward. Yang glanced over her shoulder and saw one of her discarded bracelets clatter to the floor. The buzzer sounded.

"Ms. Xiao Long is out!"

"Really?" Yang muttered.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said with complete sincerity.

Yang looked at Pyrrha for a second. Then she grinned. "Actually, that was kind of funny, now that I think about it. Weiss is going to get you though."

Yang cleared out of the way, and only Pyrrha and Weiss were left. Weiss didn't quite share Yang's confidence now that she knew what Pyrrha's semblance was. Polarity was notoriously difficult to counter. At least Yang had severely depleted Pyrrha's aura, but Weiss knew her own wasn't doing so well either. She could take one, maybe two more hits and then she'd be out and Team RWBY would have lost. Weiss refused to let that happen. Her grade was on the line. Her mind furiously ran through strategy after strategy, trying to find a sure win.

Pyrrha raised her sword and shield. Weiss knew that she was out of time. She had a plan, but it was a long shot. Either way, it was her only chance.

Pyrrha charged at Weiss, and Weiss lunged for Pyrrha. The two combatants met in the middle. Weiss's rapier deflected off of Pyrrha's shield, but Pyrrha sword hit home. Weiss lost her balance as she passed Pyrrha. She toppled to the floor, but there was no buzzer. She was still in the match.

Pyrrha turned to go for the final blow, only to discover that her feet were stuck to the ground. She looked down and saw a black glyph that she hadn't noticed before spinning underneath her. It was nearly invisible against the dark coloring of the arena's floor.

Weiss managed to get to her knees. She thrust her fingers forward. A dozen more glyphs appeared in the air, surrounding Pyrrha.

Weiss flicked her fingers upward. The glyph under Pyrrha's feet turned red and propelled her violently into another glyph. From there a chain reaction ensued. One glyph slammed Pyrrha into the next and into the next, tossing her about like a rag doll.

Weiss gestured wildly, trying to keep her unorthodox attack going. Sweat was pouring down her face and her breath was ragged. Conjuring so many glyphs in such rapid succession was taking everything she had, but she had to keep going. If Pyrrha got loose, it would be all over.

Weiss's world narrowed to a single point of focus. She kept materializing glyph after glyph, trying desperately to hold on. Her concentration was so intense that she almost didn't hear the final buzzer.

"Ms. Nikos is out! Team RWBY wins!"

Weiss's glyphs instantly dissipated, dropping Pyrrha unceremoniously to the floor. Weiss practically collapsed onto the floor herself. She was vaguely aware of the clapping and cheering coming from the students in the stands.

A strong pair of arms hoisted Weiss to her feet. They belonged to Yang who said, "See? Told you we'd win!"

Blake, who was also there, said, "That was very impressive."

Suddenly, Weiss was enveloped in a hug from Ruby. "Aw yeah, Weiss! That was awesome!"

"Please…stop…touching me," Weiss huffed out between breaths.

"Quiet please, everyone!" Professor Goodwitch said as she again took center stage in the arena. She waited for all the students to settle down before she continued. "I hope you were all paying attention. There was quite a lot to learn from that fight. We'll be going over all the replays from today in detail. But for now, it's time for the next match."

* * *

 _Author's Note:_ _Nora uses Super Charge! It's super effective! Seriously though, why doesn't Nora keep a Taser or something like that on hand to charge herself up?_

 _Writing a brawl with eight characters in it was definitely a challenge. I tried to give everyone at least one moment to shine. If you feel your favorite character didn't get a fair shake, I apologize._

 _I'm live blogging Volume 4 over on my tumblr (electronicyarn). Come join me on Sundays if you dare!_

 _Constructive criticism is always welcome, so please feel free to review or comment. If you want to be notified of updates or send me a message, you can find me on tumblr under the name electronicyarn._


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